BY THE BOOK

BY THE BOOK; Memories of Mexico, Seasoned by Time

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Published: December 2, 1998

THE memoirist approach to cookbook writing is winning out. Increasingly, cookbooks are autobiographies instead of mere collections of recipes. There are two recent books of this kind, both about Mexican cooking by women who were not born in Mexico.

''Rosa Mexicano'' by Josefina Howard (Viking, $29.95) is the first book by Ms. Howard, the owner of the Upper East Side restaurant Rosa Mexicano. Punctuated with recipes, it sketches the details of her life. ''My Mexico'' by Diana Kennedy (Clarkson N. Potter, $32.50), the sixth book about Mexican cookery by Ms. Kennedy, one of the world's foremost experts on the subject, is her most autobiographical work. Ms. Howard offers a more compelling story, but her recipes are no match for Ms. Kennedy's.

Ms. Howard was born in Cuba of Spanish parents who were involved in the arts. She lived in Spain, and fled with her mother during the Spanish Civil War after her father, who opposed Franco, was killed. They eventually made their way to New York, where Ms. Howard finished school, studied interior design, then married an American, Charles Howard. The cookbook-as-autobiography can be vague about certain details, one of which here is Mr. Howard's profession.

Nonetheless, the couple and their infant son moved first to Cuba, then to Mexico City, where Ms. Howard started an interior decorating business and gradually became interested in, then fascinated by the food of Mexico. The story -- which is interspersed with a collection of fairly basic recipes -- shifts constantly from autobiographical details -- including the breakup of her marriage, her eventual return to New York and her start in the restaurant business -- to historic explanations of essential foods, to how these foods eventually became part of the menu at Rosa Mexicano.

Ms. Howard begins with tortillas, the very basis of Mexican cookery, and quickly moves on to huitlacoche, the delicious but fairly esoteric corn fungus, accompanied by a truly revolting photograph of bloated, blackened ears of corn. Next on the menu is the maguey worm, another delicacy. There are sections covering beans, mushrooms, moles, sweets and, finally, chilies, which are described in excellent detail. She offers lively glimpses of life in Mexico, especially in Mexico City. The recipes work reasonably well, but the dishes hardly break ground.

Ms. Kennedy, who was born in England, moved to Mexico in 1957 after marrying Paul P. Kennedy, who was a correspondent for The New York Times. She has lived in Mexico ever since, and now makes her home in Zitacuaro, west of Mexico City. ''My Mexico'' gives an account of travels that take her all over Mexico, mainly to ferret out cooks and their regional specialties. She does not mince words, whether describing the ''grossly overcooked'' fish at restaurants in Campeche or calling for ecological respect for the land.

Anchoring the reminiscences are the recipes, many of them unusual, rustic and delectable, like a type of pozole, or hominy stew, made with fresh corn; skillet-roasted potatoes with chili; zucchini with sausage; shrimp in green sauce, and steamed tacos filled with shredded skirt steak.

She describes some things, however, that you might not be in a rush to make. Flying ants (the mere mention of which makes her mouth water), for example, or the first ant eggs of the season fried with chilies. Black wasps make their way into her accounts of gastronomic adventure. Who can top a recipe for mole of black iguana (''But take heart, you can also use pork'')?

She is (and always has been) uncompromising. The first recipe in the book, for tamales with corn tassels, which also requires the fermented drink pulque (use light beer instead), gives you some idea. In another, she says, ''Open the steamer and bless it with a double sign of the cross.'' Substitute one chili for another at your peril. (There is a useful chart on chilies in the back of the book.) And do not ever use canned hominy in pozole (something that does not appear to trouble Ms. Howard).

It is difficult to understand how either of these books, and especially ''My Mexico,'' could have been published without a map. Keep an atlas at your side as you read them.

GUACAMOLE EN MOLCAJETE

Adapted from ''Rosa Mexicano,'' by Josefina Howard

Time: 15 minutes

3 tablespoons chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon minced Serrano chili, or more, to taste

1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt, or more, to taste

1 small vine-ripened tomato

1 ripe Haas avocado

Tortilla chips for serving.

1. In a medium-size bowl, mortar or a Mexican molcajete (lava stone mortar), thoroughly mash 1 tablespoon of the onion with the chili, 1/2 teaspoon cilantro and the salt to make a paste.

2. Cut the tomato in half horizontally, squeeze out the juice and seeds and discard. Chop pulp, and add it to the bowl.

3. Cut the avocado in half lengthwise, cutting around the pit. Gently twist the top half of the avocado off to separate the halves. Carefully rap the pit with the edge of a sharp knife and twist it out. Using a paring knife slice the avocado flesh of both halves lengthwise, then crosswise, cutting down to the skin, to form a grid. Scoop the avocado into the bowl with a spoon.

4. Add the remaining onion and cilantro, and gently fold all the ingredients together. Season with more chili and salt if desired. Serve at once with tortilla chips.

Yield: 2 servings.

PAPAS PASTORES (SHEPHERD POTATOES)

Adapted from ''My Mexico,'' by Diana Kennedy

Time: 40 minutes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 pound very small new potatoes, rinsed and dried

Salt to taste

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

3 Serrano chilies, finely chopped, or more, to taste

1/2 cup loosely packed, roughly chopped cilantro

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice.

1. Heat oil in a heavy skillet with a cover. Add potatoes, sprinkle with salt and fry over medium-high heat, stirring from time to time, 6 to 8 minutes, until skins begin to wrinkle and brown. Add onion, garlic and chilies, reduce heat to medium-low and fry for 3 minutes longer. Add cilantro and lime juice, and fry for another minute.

2. Add 1 cup of water, cover pan and cook over very low heat until almost all the liquid has been absorbed and the potatoes are tender, another 20 minutes or so. Add additional water during cooking if it evaporates too quickly. The potatoes should be moist but not soupy. Season to taste with additional chilies and salt, if desired.

Yeild: 4 servings.

Photos: MY LIFE, MY FOOD In new cookbooks by Diana Kennedy and Josefina Howard, reminiscences are almost as important as the recipes.